Sunday, September 28, 2014

"Chronicled Tales" of Akbar - Birbal

Since the show - Jodha Akbar on Zee TV has introduced Birbal, and we are having a lot of discussions on him, hence i thought to post something on Akbar - Birbal tales. So, here are some of them, from the "earliest possible sources"...

I do not claim credit for this post, because this is not SOLELY my personal research, as i have taken translation for this post from the research paper material of an eminent professor.. The original material was in Urdu books. I took the translation. Though, i verified the content of this post(i.e., the research matter of the professor) from the sources mentioned along with each anecdote.

1. One day Akbar asked to Birbal - "Bring me a Muslim turned into a Hindu."
Birbal asked for the time of one week. The king agreed. When six days had
passed, on the seventh day Birbal took a donkey to the river and busied himself
in bathing it. It happened that Akbar too came to the river. He asked,
"Oh Birbal, what are you doing?" He said - "Jahanpanah, I am bathing this donkey, so that it will turn into a
horse." The king said, "You fool, can a donkey possibly turn
into a horse?" Birbal said, "Jahanpanah, how can a
Muslim turn into a Hindu?"

From:

Matba Jauhar-e-Hind.

Lata'if-e-Akbar |
Hissah Pahli: Birbal Nama.

Pd. in Delhi, By Maha Narayan, in 1888, Urdu, Volume-1 Page-2

2. One day Akbar, in the assembly, asked all of courtiers, "Which flower is the best
flower of all?" No one could answer. Finally Birbal's turn came.
Birbal said, "That flower is the best of all flowers, from which the whole
world's clothing is made." Akbar accepted his
reply.

From:

Matba Jauhar-e-Hind.

Lata'if-e-Akbar |
Hissah Pahli: Birbal Nama.

Pd. in Delhi, By Maha Narayan, in 1888, Urdu, Volume-1

Page-3

3. One day Akbar drew a line with his auspicious hand on the floor of the open court,
and commanded, "Make this small, but don't by any means erase it with your
hand." All those present were stupefied. When Raja Birbal's turn came, he
at once drew another line next to it, and didn't disturb the first line. Those
present saw it, and said, "In truth, the first line is small(er)."

From:

Matba Jauhar-e-Hind.

Lata'if-e-Akbar |
Hissah Pahli: Birbal Nama.

Pd. in Delhi, By Maha Narayan, in 1888, Urdu, Volume-1Page-4

4. One day Akbar said "something" to Birbal and asked for an answer. Birbal gave the very
same reply that was in the king's own mind. Hearing this, the king said,
"This is just what I was thinking also." Birbal said, "Jahanpanah, this is a case of 'a hundred wise men, one opinion' [the text said - "sau siyane ek
mat"] ." The king said, "This proverb is indeed well-known."
Then Birbal replied, "Jahanpanah, if you are so inclined,
please test this matter." The king replied, "Very good."

The moment he heard this, Birbal sent for a hundred wise men from the city. And
the men came into the king's presence that night. Showing them an empty well,
Birbal said, "Jahanpanah orders that at once every man will bring one
bucket full of milk and pour it in this well." The moment they heard the royal
order, every one reflected that where there were ninety-nine buckets of milk,
how could one bucket of water be detected? Each one brought only water and
poured it in. Birbal showed it to the king. The king said to them all,
"What were you thinking, to disobey my order? Tell the truth, or I'll
treat you harshly!"

Every one of them said with folded hands, "Jahanpanah, whether you kill us or spare us, the thought came into this
slave's mind that where there were ninety-nine buckets of milk, how could one
bucket of water be detected?"

Hearing this from the lips of all of them, the king said to Birbal, "What
I'd heard with my ears, I've now seen before my eyes: 'a hundred wise men, one
opinion'!"

From:

Matba Jauhar-e-Hind.

Lata'if-e-Akbar |
Hissah Pahli: Birbal Nama.

Pd. in Delhi, By Maha Narayan, in 1888, Urdu, Volume-1

Page-13/14

5. One day Akbar said to Birbal, "Bring me four individuals--one, a hero; two, a coward;
three, a modest person; four, a shameless person." The next day Birbal
brought a woman before the king. He commanded, "I
had called for four individuals, and you brought one. Where are the
others?" Birbal said, "Jahanpanah, this one has
all four qualities." The king directed him, "Explain." He
replied, "When she stays in her in-laws' house, out of shame she doesn't
even open her mouth to speak clearly. And when she sings songs at a
marriage somewhere, her father and brothers and husband and in-laws and
caste-fellows all sit and listen, but she's not ashamed before any of them. And
when she sits with her husband, at night she won't even go alone into the
store-room, and she says, 'I'm afraid to go.' Then, when she takes a fancy to
someone, at midnight in the dark, all alone, with no weapon, she goes
fearlessly to meet her lover, and is not at all afraid of robbers or evil
spirits." Hearing this, the king was pleased, and gave Birbal a reward,
and commanded, "You speak truly."

From:

Matba Jauhar-e-Hind.

Lata'if-e-Akbar |
Hissah Pahli: Birbal Nama.

Pd. in Delhi, By Maha Narayan, in 1888, Urdu, Volume-1Page-14

6. One day Akbar
was fishing by the edge of the river. And someone from somewhere had presented
to the king some honey by way of a formal gift. The king was licking it. Birbal
went out from the king's presence. On the road, some Muslims who were very
respected and venerable, and were on their way to pay obeisance to the king,
inquired from Birbal, "What is Jahanpanah doing?"
Birbar said, "He is babbling nonsense [jhak mar rahe hain] by the
riverbank, and licking up dung." Those Muslims were very much
displeased. Akbar said, "In fact Birbal did not lie, but told the
truth. For I was hunting (=marna) fish, and fish in the Shastra are
called 'jhak.' And as for honey, it is well known that it is the
dung of honeybees, thus I was licking it. So don't be displeased."

From:

Matba Jauhar-e-Hind. Zarafat-al-Akbar | Hissah-e-Suvv'am: Birbal Nama

Pd. in Delhi, By Munshi Narayan, in 1888, UrduPage-5/6

7.In Akbar's court, another courtier who was a constant rival of Birbal, generally arrived wearing a very elegant
turban, and Birbal, wearing a cap. [The courtier boasted about his turban,
so that Birbal undertook to rival it.] Accordingly, the next day Birbal,
placing a mirror before him, tied a turban extremely excellently and went to
court. [The courtier claimed the turban had been tied by Birbal's wife. Asked by
the king to prove it, he pulled off his own turban and retied it as it had been
before; he then challenged Birbal to do the same.] Thus Birbal repeatedly tried
to retie his turban, but it never came out as before, since previously he had
tied it while looking in the mirror. Then the king laughed and said to Birbal,
"Birbal, that courtier says truly, and it seems that what you're not able to
do yourself, you get done by your wife!" Birbal was inwardly
extremely distressed.

From:

Matba Jauhar-e-Hind. Zarafat-al-Akbar | Hissah-e-Suvv'am: Birbal Nama

Pd. in Delhi, By Munshi Narayan, in 1888, UrduPage-14/15

8. One day the Chief
Eunuch [Khwaja-Shera] said to Akbar, "Janab Birbal is very
quick-witted. He ought to be asked a question to which he can give no
answer." The king said, "What you say will be asked [of him]."
The Chief Eunuch said, "Today please ask Birbal where the center of the
earth is, and how many stars there are in the sky, and how many men and women
there are in the world." Hearing this, the king said, "It's true;
good. Call Birbal." As he was saying this, Birbal appeared. The king
asked Birbal those very questions which the Chief Eunuch had told him. Birbal,
having heard them, said, "I will give the answer to them
tomorrow." With these words, he went to his house.
At dawn, Birbal, taking a hammer and an iron nail, presented himself in the
king's service. The king, as soon as he saw his face, said, "Birbal has
brought the answers to our questions of yesterday." He said, "Your
Majesty, I am at your service." With these words he drove the nail into
the midst of the royal palace, and said, "Your Majesty, this is the center
of the earth. If you don't believe me, have it measured." Hearing this
excellent answer, the king fell silent. And when he asked the answer to the second
question, Birbal brought a ram to stand before him: "Your Majesty, as many
hairs as there are on its body, there are just so many stars in the sky.
If there's any doubt of this, please count them."
[Then Birbal said,] "I have also brought the correct answer to the third
question. But one matter has thrown me into perplexity. It is this: in
which reckoning should the eunuchs be counted? They are neither women nor men.
Thus the idea has come to me that if all the eunuchs in the world were to be
killed, the account would become correct." Hearing this, the king laughed
very much and the Chief Eunuch was inwardly very much ashamed of "the act of testing Birbal". And the king,
rewarding Birbal, gave him leave to depart.

beautiful presentation history-geek.this is ur style.events with references.thank u.i can see a tinge of connection of women with nobility and influence in the 7th point.in our jodha akbar show, birbal connects many things with his wife and women.this event shows women were also part of the court events.they are present in later books in stories.this hints at the point.

Thanks for such interesting pieces... wit n humour are at foreplay while more subtle n deeper issues lie just beyond the surface... male one think while enjoying... n are as relevant today as they were years ago... universal n appealing...

V true! Do you remember what Birbal told Jodha - that his job was to keep everyone happy and how could he keep everyone happy without knowing what problems they had to face?

His job was to make everyone laugh. But he didn't restrict himself to being the court jester. He went one step beyond this JD (job description). He actually solved people's problems for them so that they would be naturally happy instead of just diverting their minds temporarily. :)

No wonder he became very close to Akbar and rose steadily in his court to become minister, soldier, singer, poet laureate, musician, personal friend.

His words were outwardly funny but always carried deeper lessons which only the wise could understand.

Thats so well said Radhika... n totally agree... Birbal was a truly interesting personality... witty, funny, humorous, sarcastic, smart n really intelligent... n his camaraderie with the King was such a delight...

Fabulous post Abhay. I hope you can share more stories, they seem timeless.Please share Akbar Birbal and HK stories.

I had read this one story - Akbar was very angry with HK and he told her he wants her to leave and she can only take one thing which she loves with her.HK went to Birbal and he gave her idea.HK went to Akbar's hojara and while he was sleeping took the bed with him sleeping in it. When he woke up Akbar was not in palace and HK told him she took him cos she loves him most. Akbar burst out laughing and took HK back with him to palace.

very interesting incidents which birbal could make the courtiers and akbar laugh wholeheartedly. if atleast one of thema9simple ones) are shown in every episode for 1 or 2 minutes instead of unnecessary crap viewers will enjoy a lot. thanks abhay you provide very authentic information with references and therefore we believe it 100% correct

Thank u, history-geek.None of the anecdots were read by me before:) :-h Revealing the sources makes them so authentic.These were not among those in the normal story books of Birbal n Tenali ramakrishna. Thanks for sharing.Seems like great days r ahead fr viewers.:)

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